If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 55

He wasn’t aware that he himself was acting strange. He couldn’t focus on one thing all day, and even the reading and math studies he used to enjoy were pushed aside. The first thing he did upon waking was to open his indifferent phone, which had no new messages, and review past conversations. When he got tired of that, he would get up and move his body until he heard a sound from outside. If he happened to hear Yeonrye’s footsteps, he would hurriedly sit on the bed and open a book.

“Yirok Haenang. Have your dinner. No, no….”

Yirok, knowing it wasn’t Chaehwa, closed his book, came down, and took the tray from Yeonrye. Yeonrye, whose tray of porridge was practically snatched away, stepped back with a flustered look but then gave a subtle smile.

Yirok bowed his head in thanks and placed the tray on the table. But Yeonrye didn’t leave and just stood there, holding her ground. Yirok, who had been about to sit at the table, stood up and looked at Yeonrye.

“Um… my lady said she has something to do tomorrow, so she probably won’t be able to come.”

“Ah….”

“She asked me to tell you she’s sorry if you’re waiting.”

Yirok replied with a very calm face, “Okay,” and then sat down. He scooped up the porridge with a spoon as if nothing was wrong, and Yeonrye smiled, closed the door, and left. However, as Yeonrye’s footsteps faded away, the spoon that was scooping the porridge also moved away from him. Clang. As if having no lingering attachment to the spoon that had fallen with a sound, Yirok’s hand went to his pocket.

The phone was silent, as if it had fallen into water. It used to ring so loudly when he didn’t want it to, but now it was acting like a useless piece of scrap metal. Yirok went into his messages and read the last one he had received.

「If you’re sick, press 1!」

He had read it so many times he could memorize the shape of the exclamation point. No matter how much he bit his lip, the message wouldn’t get any longer.

“Let’s not think about it.”

He picked up the spoon to eat the porridge again, but the thoughts wouldn’t stop. Yirok threw the pitiful spoon and picked up his phone. At the very least, if she wasn’t going to come, if she had stuck him in this gloomy guest room, wasn’t it right to at least tell him the reason?

Yirok pressed and held 1 as instructed, but less than a second later, he regretted it. He had made the call, but he had nothing to say. His headaches had been getting better lately, so it felt awkward to say he was sick.

But Chaehwa answered almost immediately, not even giving him time to hang up.

—Yirok?

“……”

—I’m going crazy. I think he fainted.

He heard the clattering sound of a chair falling over, as if she had been sitting somewhere. It wasn’t hard to picture a flustered Chaehwa running over. Yirok squeezed his eyes shut and spoke in a slightly louder voice.

“Don’t make a fuss. I didn’t faint.”

—Huh? It connected! You didn’t faint? Then are you in pain?

“…A little.”

—I’ll be right there.

“No, don’t come. It’ll be fine if I just lie down for a bit.”

—Don’t be silly. Are you the type to say you’re in pain if you’re in pain? Wait.

The phone screen went black as Chaehwa unilaterally ended the call. Yirok, shaking himself from his daze, shot up as if he were on fire and took off his shirt.

He hastily opened a drawer, took out the clothes he had washed yesterday, then grabbed his toothbrush and went to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth so hard it felt like they would be damaged, then saw his reflection in the mirror. Yirok spat out the toothbrush at the sight of himself washing up and getting ready as if he were going on a date.

“Ha….”

There were few days he didn’t feel pathetic, but today was particularly bad. Yirok pressed his forehead against the glass and cooled his heated head.

This is strange. Something is going wrong. The realization had come late.

🌹₊ ⊹

The ‘Yeongdalsan Site,’ the Chukjangji of the Hwaeul family, was famous for growing good tea leaves and medicinal herbs. The tea leaves from the Hwaeul family were considered the best, so even the Nanjubeol family would often pay to buy and drink them. It could be called a small hobby and business of the Hwaeul family. That same Hwaeul family had sent two boxes of tea leaves for their only son. Of course, their intentions were so black they were foul. Shinwoo smiled faintly and offered the brewed tea to Chaehwa.

“Please drink, my lady.”

“…Are you trying to change my mind with tea right now?”

Chaehwa grumbled but couldn’t ignore the effort he put into brewing the tea and lifted the cup. Shinwoo pushed the plate of yakgwa, a weakness of Chaehwa’s, forward and smiled.

“Have some with it. I specially asked the kitchen elders and got these.”

“Hmm.”

“Chaho and I are cleaning well, too. And if I get the chance, I’d like to apologize to Yirok.”

At the mention of an apology, Chaehwa seemed to soften, picking up a yakgwa and popping it into her mouth. Watching the yakgwa with a small bite mark in it, Shinwoo smiled joyfully. It was a smile so bright it made him forget how he had been walking around like a corpse for the past few days.

“It tastes good. But Shinwoo… what’s wrong with your face?”

“I haven’t been able to sleep for a few days.”

“Why?”

Chaehwa’s eyes sparkled as if she were genuinely curious. Shinwoo suddenly wondered if falling in love with this clueless young lady was a good thing. Shinwoo stared intently at Chaehwa before slowly starting to speak.

“I thought you hated me, my lady.”

“No, why would I hate you. I was just a little upset.”

“In a world where no one understands me. I believed that my only ally was you, my lady.”

He hadn’t even expressed a quarter of what was on his mind, yet Chaehwa listened with wide, surprised eyes. There was a time when he thought it wouldn’t matter if he lived his whole life as a Haenang to his young lady. But as soon as Yirok, who threatened his position, appeared, his training in mind cultivation was of no use. He wanted to be Chaehwa’s one and only, even if it meant getting his hands dirty. That was his true feeling, which couldn’t be hidden no matter how much he trained.

Shinwoo put on a gentle smile and rested his arms on the table. The breeze blowing through the pavilion was nice, and the scent of the tea was nice. But what was best of all was the young lady sitting obediently in front of him.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you, my lady.”

“I….”

Chaehwa, who had become somewhat calmer, put down her teacup and hesitated. It was rare for the clear-cut Chaehwa, so Shinwoo also focused. But a loud ringing sound cut off the chance for Chaehwa’s voice to come out.

“Huh?”

Chaehwa immediately took out her phone and answered with surprised eyes. Because the surroundings were so quiet, Chaehwa’s voice sounded twice as loud as usual.

“Yirok?”

Kim Yirok. Shinwoo frowned at the name that had ruined his peaceful afternoon. Fortunately, Chaehwa didn’t see his expression and quickly stood up.

“I’m going crazy. I think he fainted.”

The words that followed seemed to be a sort of farewell to Shinwoo. As Chaehwa put on her flower shoes as if to leave the pavilion, Shinwoo let out a hollow laugh from behind her.

He remembered all the effort he had put in to arrange a time alone with Chaehwa. Flattering the kitchen staff, meeting the Jiju to offer his family’s tea leaves, and all the time spent staging it to seem like a chance encounter with Chaehwa. All the preparations he had made over the past few days under the guise of reflection had gone up in smoke with a single phone call.

“Don’t be silly. Are you the type to say you’re in pain if you’re in pain? Wait.”

Chaehwa, having put on her flower shoes, hung up the phone irritably. Anyone could see she was about to leave. As Chaehwa was about to give him a cursory nod and leave, Shinwoo made one last attempt to stop her.

“May I go with you?”

Chaehwa, who was about to go down the stairs, hesitated to answer, and in that time, Shinwoo brought forth his signature trustworthy smile.

“I told you I wanted to apologize to Yirok. I won’t cause any trouble, my lady.”

“Uh… if he’s in a lot of pain, you might not be able to go in.”

He could tell she wanted to avoid taking him at all costs, but Shinwoo pretended not to notice and approached her.

“Yes. Then I won’t go in.”

Perhaps unable to think of another refusal, Chaehwa just floated an ambiguous smile on her lips. Shinwoo slipped his feet into his neatly placed sneakers and looked back at Chaehwa.

“Let’s go before it gets any later, my lady.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Chaehwa’s lips, which seemed full of dissatisfaction, pressed into a straight line. The two walked quietly under the moonlit night. Shinwoo couldn’t read other people’s thoughts, but he felt he knew what was in Chaehwa’s mind right now.

Her eyes were thinking of that man. Her lips were worrying about that man, and her steps were walking towards that man. He didn’t like any of it, but there was one thing he could sever. Shinwoo hid a vile smile and spoke to Chaehwa, who was only looking ahead.

“Should I get a cell phone too, my lady?”

“You, Shinwoo?”

“Yes.”

She seemed quite surprised, even stopping in her tracks to look up at Shinwoo. Was it two years ago? When she had asked how about he get a cell phone, Shinwoo hadn’t answered. It was one of the things he deeply regretted. If he had connected with the young lady via cell phone back then, things would be very different now.

“Do you not like the idea? But please don’t give special treatment only to Yirok. When we were young, you only played with me.”

“Yirok is….”

Chaehwa stopped and stood still, her gaze, which was looking at the moon, sinking darkly. Shinwoo’s gaze, waiting for her next words, also landed on the moon. It was an exceptionally bright moon tonight.

“It’s no different than me having dragged him into Nanjubeol. I want to treat him well.”

“You, my lady?”

“Um… it’s getting late. This is the first time that Yirok has said he’s in pain. Let’s hurry.”

As if it were a topic she didn’t want to talk about, Chaehwa hurriedly grabbed Shinwoo’s wrist and pulled him along. Being dragged by that small hand, Shinwoo’s eyes became as dark as the night.

In the end, she didn’t answer his question about whether it was okay to get a phone and hang out with her.

As always, she was a young lady who was stingy with her affection for him.